A lively and thrilling double A side from London quartet Chapter 24 opens with Spindle, a song that propels itself off of a scrappy art-punk riff and twitchy, flailing drumming wrapped up by Claire Smith’s Bow Wow Wow-like vocals that stutter and stammer towards the howling chorus, before the guitars break down into a tropical whimsy and you dive back into the invigorating mix as Smith coos; ‘Come and get the lion’s share!’
4454 begins with a slow steady grimy intro before it turns into a bounding frenzy that double-backs on itself into an exotic, shuffle of spiky guitar and Mel Stark’s burbling funky bass. Smith throws in some archly theatrical vocals reminscent of The Victorian English Gentlemans Club, barking ‘Try to be strong!’ over cautious jolts of instrumentation that lurches into a The Velvet Underground-style anthemic climax.
Relentlessly inventive and appealing art-punk that manages to marry ideas with a wild danceable sound, this is a band that doesn’t get lost in its own inventiveness knowing how to deliver a fresh and exciting sound that doffs a cap to the greats whilst retaining its own unique and joyous voice.
[Rating:4]
